Matchmaker, Matchmaker
by cardiffictionlocked1895
Summary: AU. Odin decides Thor and Loki should start finding their soulmates. OC death. Pre-Thor. ThorxOFC, slight LokixOFC. Part 4 of Life as We Never Knew It series. I do not own Marvel or any of its characters
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1- Meeka

"You there!"

I heard the voice as I was walking home from the market at dusk. After moving here a year ago, experience had taught me it wasn't exactly the smartest idea to listen to strangers calling to you at night. I started running in the opposite direction as the voice.

"You there! Come back!"

_As if_, I thought as I sped down an alley toward my shabby house, hoping whoever it was would give up.

But the voice refused to fade. "Wait! Please! I'm presenting you with the opportunity of a lifetime! Come back! I promise you won't regret it!"

I normally would have just kept running, but something about the voice told me to stop. It didn't sound like a drunkard or a crazy toothless old guy. It actually sounded like a sane person. That meant whoever it was possibly might not be kidding about the "opportunity of a lifetime." I couldn't squash the sudden burst of hope that it might be an opportunity to help my family and I move out of this dump, so I skid to a halt and turn to face a man coming around the corner toward me. He's panting from trying to catch up with me. "Wait-" he begins, breathless, but I cut him off.

"I am. What do you want?"

He leans against an alley wall, breathing hard. He shakes his head. "I tried to tell them, I did. I said, 'you won't find a girl in _that _place. Not one fit for a prince, that's for sure.' "

I had thought of a snarky response to say, but it vanished from my mind as soon as I heard the word 'prince.' "What- what did you just say?"

The man shot me an exasperated look. "I _said_, I told them-"

"No, not that. What did you say about the prince?"

"Oh. Haven't you heard that the princes are searching for possible wives?"

"I have." And I had; I just didn't think they'd ever be interested in picking me, but if they were, I wasn't about to complain.

"Well, the king sent me down this way to see if I could find any girls here that might work for the younger prince. How old are you?"

It was kind of a random question, but I didn't really care, as long as it helped me qualify. "I'm fifteen."

"Perfect. And what's your name?" he asked me next.

"Meeka." I responded, my excitement growing by the second.

"Alright, then, Meeka, how'd you like to meet the king of Asgard?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Reve

"How much longer do you think we'll have to wait, Reve?"

"I'm not sure, Val. Maybe an hour, maybe less, maybe more, I don't know."

I stood in a group of nearly a hundred girls crowded next to the fence, talking to Valveride, my best friend. We were all waiting to see who was being accepted to possibly become a wife for Prince Thor or his younger brother, Prince Loki. Whoever got picked for Thor had the opportunity to one day become queen of Asgard.

As it turned out, though, we only had to wait five more minutes until they announced who would progressing to the next round of eliminations. After that, there would only be four girls, and the princes would each decide between two. I pitied the girls who made it that far only to be tossed out with the rest of the other rejects at the very end. Somehow I knew that I wouldn't be either of those girls. With all respects to Valveride, I felt I was the most suited to the elusive and much longed-for position of Queen than of all the girls here. I was attractive, I was smart, and I was wealthy. Check, check, check. I was certain most of these other girls didn't have all that going for them, but I sure did.

"What if only one of us is picked, Reve? What then?" Val fretted to me.

I bit my lip, like I hadn't considered that angle previously. In actuality, I had long since reconciled with myself the idea that the odds of me getting picked but not Val were pretty high. "I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"But what if-" Valveride's fresh worry was cut off abruptly by a messenger riding up to the gate. The crowd silenced without him having to say a thing.

"Fourteen girls qualified." He then recited a list of girls that luckily included both me and Val. I noticed several girls who weren't picked burst into tears.

I had known I would make it this far, if not farther, so I wasn't surprised at all. But from the look on Val's face, _she_ definitely was.

"Oh, Reve, we made it!" She hugged me excitedly.

"I know. I'm so happy!"

A girl stepped toward us. "Hey. I'm Meeka."

I recognized her name from the list the messenger had read off of. "Oh, you got in, too." I said politely, but really I was tempted to take an automatic step back. Her clothes were dirty and, from the state of her hair, she didn't appear to possess a brush. How did a _poor_ girl even fit the qualifications? I mean, she was pretty enough, but not _that_ pretty. "I'm Reve, by the way."

"And I'm Valveride, but you can call me Val." said Val.

"So who're you two going for?" Meeka asked. I knew exactly what she was talking about: which prince we would try to make like us.

"Thor, of course." I answered, and Val nodded eagerly in agreement.

Meeka smiled. "Oh, I'm hoping for Loki."

Another girl came up from behind Val. "So am I."

Meeka turned to her. "Who are you? I'm Meeka."

The new girl smiled. She was short, with long, curly brown hair and freckles. "Nice to meet you. I'm Everette."

Val and I introduced ourselves. Everette seemed like a nice girl, and _she_ certainly wasn't poor. We all talked for a little while as the others who hadn't got in dispersed gradually, until only about fifteen of us were left. Then the messenger opened the gate and led us toward the palace, where we would face the next test. I squeezed Val's hand as the gleaming golden turrets came into view.

We were about to meet the princes.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- Meeka

I stepped out the doorway of the dark room, Loki's silky voice echoing in my ears.

The last thirty minutes I had had with him could only be described as… interesting.

It was supposed to have been a time for him to evaluate me, but I ended up reconsidering my initial take on him.

When I had first come here, I had a plan in mind: get married, get rich, and vanish mysteriously. Really I would be sitting contently in some grand house somewhere with my family, never to be found.

I had never factored in actually feeling for Loki.

Now, it seemed, I would have to.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Reve

"Reve, this is the absolute _worst thing_ that has ever happened to me!" Val sobbed next to me. The next list of girls to qualify had just been called. Needless to say, she wasn't on it, and I was.

"It's alright, Val." I soothed. "I probably won't make it any farther, anyway." Which was a downright lie, but she didn't need to know that quite yet. "I have it worse either way. If I get out this round, I've got my hopes up for nothing. You won't need to go through that now."

She sniffed. "I guess you're right."

I smiled at her. "See you once I get kicked out, whenever that is."

She grinned back at me through her tears. "Bye, Reve."

I didn't know it then, but that would be the last time I ever got to see my best friend.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- Meeka

I could hardly believe my luck. I had made it to the end.

I had been here for a week, and, after all the considerations had been made, the two names to qualify at the final round were Reve and I.

I had won. Loki had chosen me over all the other girls. Me. I was going to marry the prince. That part wouldn't last very long, though. As soon as I had acquired the wealth that would be mine shortly, I would be on my way.

Now there were just a few loose strings to tie together. First and foremost, my attachment with Loki that had gradually formed over the past week would have to end.

But I would do myself one last favor before I went.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6– Loki

I hadn't at all chosen Meeka because I loved her. I didn't, in fact, have any interest in her at all.

But I knew that if I picked her, I could find a way out of marrying her. Father probably wouldn't want me to anyway, what with her being poor. It would be easy to convince him not to make me marry anyone. I had no desire to at the moment.

Meeka rushed over to me after the announcement. She seemed so elated at qualifying that I decided to pretend for now and break the news to her later on.

"Oh, Loki! This is so amazing!"

I nodded, and then changed the subject. "What do you think about Thor choosing Reve?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I don't particularly like Reve. She's full of herself."

"I'm sure that's most of the reason Thor likes her: her ego is just as big as his."

"Yes, Thor and Reve are a perfect couple." She leaned in, closer to me, and I could feel her warm breath on my face. "But not quite as perfect as us." She tilted her head to the side and slightly parted her lips. It was clear what she wanted.

But I wasn't going to give it. She didn't really love me. She was driven solely by want for a better life for herself, not by truly passionate emotion. She didn't care for me at all, but she had deluded herself into thinking she did.

So, to get out of it, I simply did the first thing that came to mind.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7– Meeka

He was about to kiss me, finally, when the flower pot next to me burst into flames.

By the time the fire was out, the moment was over, and it got all uncomfortable again.

"Uh, so what were we saying?" I asked to break the suddenly awkward silence.

"I think it was something about Thor and Reve." Loki prompted.

"Oh, yeah." Thinking back to the last comment I had said before the flaming hydrangeas, I realized how stupid I must have sounded. '_But not quite as perfect as us.'_ Yuck. What kind of a person says that? "But can we finish our conversation later, though? I have to, you know, be somewhere."

"Yes, I have to go, as well." he replied quickly, and without another word, left through the door in the same silent way he always moved.

I was staring longingly after him when I heard the piercing scream.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- Loki

Reve was dead. I didn't know how, but she was.

Thor was crushed. He really had loved her. He cried every night for the next three days after he had followed the sound of her shriek to find her lying on the floor in the middle of the hallway with a knife in her back.

It had all happened so suddenly none of us knew what to think.

I was certain, though, that I had to tell Meeka she had to leave now. I know how cruel that seems: having your friend die right as you were just beginning to have the time of your life somewhere and then being told to go back home after you'd come so far to get here.

And it might have been cruel, but I figured after Reve's death, Meeka would take that as a great opportunity to leave; for all she knew, she could be next.

So I pulled her aside into an empty room, and didn't bother with putting any fluff on the statement. "Meeka, you need to leave here."

Surprisingly, she kept her usual straight face. "I thought you might say something like that."

"It's just, with Reve… gone… it might be easier for everyone if you left."

She nodded. "I understand. Thor would probably resent me for being alive, and that would make it harder for both of us."

This was going better than I expected. I started to reply, but she cut me off.

"Wait," she said. "I wasn't finished. I know you love me, but, as I can freely say this now, I don't feel the same way about you."

That was a relief. "Meeka, I don't actually love you. I pretended because I thought you did like me." Well, at least that wasn't _completely_ a lie.

Her dark blue, almost purple eyes flashed at me, and her voice took an infuriated tone. "Thanks so much for that, Loki."

And then she left the room without another word.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Meeka

I was so angry at him. Here I was expecting him to confess his true love for me and convince me to stay, but do I get that? No. Instead, I hear how glad he will be when I'm gone.

I hadn't been telling the truth the whole time myself, either, of course. I still loved him. It had all been a test to see if he felt the same way, and he had failed.

Fine, I would leave this place. But I would be back soon enough. Even if it took years.

And I wouldn't be going anywhere without Loki.


End file.
